The magnificent Medieval town of Montepulciano, in the Italian region of Tuscany, was a winemaking mecca centuries before anyone had heard of Montalcino, which is about 35 kilometers to the west. In the modern era, however, Montalcino has stolen everyone else’s thunder and become the Sangiovese capital of the world. But WAIT JUST A DOGGONE SECOND, say brothers Simone and Leonardo Abram of Podere Il Macchione. Slow your roll, there, buddy! Taste today’s profound, age-worthy Vino Nobile di Montepulciano before you go making proclamations like that.
Of course, they didn’t say any of this—I’m just projecting—but if they did, they’d be absolutely right: This Vino Nobile from Il Macchione, vintage after vintage, out-performs Brunello di Montalcino wines costing twice as much (or more). That’s not hyperbole, that’s just the facts on the ground, gathered over many years of working with—and being amazed by—this wine. It already has a little bit of bottle age behind it, but it’s poised for more, should you decide to cellar some; I don’t know how many people think a $34 bottle of wine is “worthy” of cellaring, but regardless, it is. If you love Tuscan Sangiovese, especially its most traditionally styled, structured expressions, Il Macchione is a name to commit to memory.
But let’s take a step back for those who may be perplexed by this “Montepulciano versus Montalcino” talk. In central Tuscany, there are three main production zones (DOCGs) that feature the Sangiovese grape: Brunello di Montalcino, which most people place at the top of the pyramid; Chianti Classico, still (wrongly) saddled with a down-market image; and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, at once the most historic and enigmatic of the three. Of this “Big Three,” the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano appellation is the smallest in terms of acres of land under vine (about 1,300 hectares, which is marginally less than Montalcino and one-fifth the size of Chianti Classico). Situated southeast of Siena near Arezzo, the Montepulciano hills are a little broader and more open than the steep-pitched slopes of Chianti or Montalcino, and the Montepulciano soils are a little more sandy/sedimentary than the others. Montalcino, the driest, warmest and most southerly of the three, usually harvests first, while cooler, wetter Chianti is usually last.
As important as these terroir distinctions are, perhaps the more relevant discussion in this instance is of the Sangiovese grape. Technically speaking, both Vino Nobile and Chianti Classico are blends that are based on minimums of 70%-80% Sangiovese (although 100% is allowed), while Brunello is required by law to be 100% Sangiovese. In practice, all three regions (legally or not) became highly “internationalized” in the ‘80s and ‘90s, incorporating Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, etc. into their wines and, in many cases, stomping all over the relatively delicate, perfumed Sangiovese in the process. Il Macchione is one of a growing number of producers to go in the opposite direction and double down on Sangiovese. The story in Tuscany these days isn’t the Chianti Classico or Vino Nobile dressed up with 15% Cabernet to give it an inkier color and softer edge (or the Brunello di Montalcino given similar treatment in secret); it’s about bringing pure expressions of Sangiovese to the fore.
Brothers Simone and Leonardo Abram, natives of Trentino, purchased Il Macchione in 2007, and have continued the work of previous proprietor Robert Kengelbacher, who’d been quietly turning out some of Montepulciano’s best wines since the 1980s. The Abram brothers not only transitioned the entire farm to biodynamic viticulture but ripped up anything that wasn’t Sangiovese and replaced it in kind. At altitudes of about 350 meters in Montepulciano’s fossil-rich, sandstone-strewn Caggiole Valley, the Abrams are fanatical in their vineyard management, capturing not just Sangiovese’s perfume but its power. They make just two wines—this Vino Nobile normale, aged about 30 months’ total in a mix of cooperage (much longer than the law prescribes), and their riserva, which ages in wood a good 40 months before bottling.
That long aging lends considerable backbone to this 2014 without compromising the forest floor aromatics that characterize the best Sangiovese wines. Brambly black and red cherry fruit leaps from the glass, followed by hints of fig, leather, cigar wrapper, damp leaves and black pepper. It has a sturdy, “autumnal” feel, as woodsy and smoky as a fire crackling in the hearth. In keeping with true Sangiovese, it is neither ‘inky’ in color nor in fruit extract. It’s much more regal and upright than that, requiring either an aggressive decanting followed by a good hour of aeration or some extended time in your cellar. It does have some bottle age and will reward enjoying now, but it’ll become clear as you do how much life this powerful red has left. Decant it about an hour before serving at 60 degrees in Bordeaux stems with some well-marbled steaks off the grill. It’s about as close to Tuscany as most of us are likely to get this Summer, but what a delicious consolation it will be. Enjoy!
